--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fame usually comes to those who are…" description: "\"Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else - very rarely to those who say to themselves, 'Go to, now, let us be a celebrated ind..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg" --- # Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about… ![“Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else - very rarely to those who say to themselves, 'Go to, now, let us be a celebrated individual!'.” quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg) > “Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else - very rarely to those who say to themselves, 'Go to, now, let us be a celebrated individual!'.” [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great achievements often arise when the mind is elsewhere, not when obsessively pursuing fame; true success follows genuine focus. **In simple terms:** Success comes from focus, not chasing fame. Key Takeaway Focus on meaningful work, not fame. Themes success focus humility Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - academic research - entrepreneurship - public service Key Concepts psychology of motivation goal setting self‑discipline Questions to Reflect On - How does distraction foster creativity? - When is ambition necessary for achievement? A Different Perspective May undervalue the role of ambition and self‑promotion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Celebrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrated/) [Celebrated Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrated-individual-562744/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Fame Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame-usually-562743/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Let Celebrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-celebrated-562745/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Rarely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-rarely-562746/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [Strategic thinking rarely occurs spontaneously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-porter/strategic-thinking-rarely-occurs-spontaneously/) [Michael Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-porter/) > [I'm such a long-term investor, I've never really let go and celebrated what I did with the Hubble telescope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/story-musgrave/i-m-such-a-long-term-investor-i-ve-never-really-let-go-and-celebrated/) [Story Musgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/story-musgrave/) > [Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thinking-about-something-else/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“History teaches us that Literary Book Awards have always been the quickest and easiest way to achieve global fame. They have helped countless authors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/history-teaches-us-that-literary-book-awards-have-always-been-the/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [ The love of fame usually spurs on the mind. \[Lat., Ingenio stimulos subdere fama solet.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-love-of-fame-usually-spurs-on-the-mind-lat-ingenio-stimulos/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [Because every single one of us has something to say to the others, something that deserves to be celebrated or forgiven by others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-every-single-one-of-us-has-something-to-say-to-the-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's pure joy when you can reveal the most intimate and 'embarrassing' parts of yourself and know they will be loved and celebrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/it-s-pure-joy-when-you-can-reveal-the-most-intimate-and-embarrassing/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [In my time, Mother's Day wasn't celebrated the way it is now. In fact, there used to be no Mother's Day for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharmila-tagore/in-my-time-mother-s-day-wasn-t-celebrated-the-way-it-is-now-in-fact/) [Sharmila Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharmila-tagore/) > [I was very famous as a young man and I celebrated both the good and bad times with drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-hughes/i-was-very-famous-as-a-young-man-and-i-celebrated-both-the-good-and/) [Glenn Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-hughes/) > [“He celebrated his solitude with a frown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-lawrence/he-celebrated-his-solitude-with-a-frown/) [R.J. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-lawrence/) > [Evolution is not something to be feared. It's to be celebrated, embraced, and understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/evolution-is-not-something-to-be-feared-it-s-to-be-celebrated/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [I think that people who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how unpopular, should be celebrated, not cast aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-lancaster/i-think-that-people-who-stand-up-for-what-they-believe-in-no-matter/) [Craig Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-lancaster/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [“I should have celebrated my life as it was, imperfections, sadness, and all, and not forensically examined its faults.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilly-macmillan/i-should-have-celebrated-my-life-as-it-was-imperfections-sadness-and/) [Gilly Macmillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilly-macmillan/) ## More by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr > [Controversy equalizes fools and wise men in the same way - and the fools know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/controversy-equalizes-fools-and-wise-men-in-the-same-way-and-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/some-people-are-so-heavenly-minded-that-they-are-no-earthly-good/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [Don't flatter yourselves that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. On the contrary, the nearer you come into relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/don-t-flatter-yourselves-that-friendship-authorizes-you-to-say/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [“Old Ironsides" Aye tear her tattered ensign down long has it waved on high, And many an eye has danced to see That banner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/old-ironsides-aye-tear-her-tattered-ensign-down-long-has-it-waved-on/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [A person is always startled when he hears himself seriously called an old man for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/a-person-is-always-startled-when-he-hears-himself-seriously-called-an/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [The mind of a bigot to the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour on it, the more it contracts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/the-mind-of-a-bigot-to-the-pupil-of-the-eye-the-more-light-you-pour/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/a-moment-s-insight-is-sometimes-worth-a-life-s-experience/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man's upper chamber, if he has common sense on the ground-floor. But if a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/science-is-a-first-rate-piece-of-furniture-for-a-man-s-upper-chamber/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [Love is the master-key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/love-is-the-master-key-that-opens-the-gates-of-happiness-of-hatred-of/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [What a blessed thing it is, that Nature, when she invented, manufactured, and patented her authors, contrived to make critics out of the chips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/what-a-blessed-thing-it-is-that-nature-when-she-invented-manufactured/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [“The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of an eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/the-mind-of-a-bigot-is-like-the-pupil-of-an-eye-the-more-light-you/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) > [I like children; I like 'em, and I respect 'em. Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/i-like-children-i-like-em-and-i-respect-em-pretty-much-all-the-honest/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) [Explore all 13 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/) ## More Celebrated quotes > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [I think that people who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how unpopular, should be celebrated, not cast aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-lancaster/i-think-that-people-who-stand-up-for-what-they-believe-in-no-matter/) [Craig Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-lancaster/) > [Evolution is not something to be feared. It's to be celebrated, embraced, and understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/evolution-is-not-something-to-be-feared-it-s-to-be-celebrated/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [“He celebrated his solitude with a frown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-lawrence/he-celebrated-his-solitude-with-a-frown/) [R.J. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-lawrence/) > [It's pure joy when you can reveal the most intimate and 'embarrassing' parts of yourself and know they will be loved and celebrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/it-s-pure-joy-when-you-can-reveal-the-most-intimate-and-embarrassing/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Because every single one of us has something to say to the others, something that deserves to be celebrated or forgiven by others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-every-single-one-of-us-has-something-to-say-to-the-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I should have celebrated my life as it was, imperfections, sadness, and all, and not forensically examined its faults.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilly-macmillan/i-should-have-celebrated-my-life-as-it-was-imperfections-sadness-and/) [Gilly Macmillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilly-macmillan/) > [In my time, Mother's Day wasn't celebrated the way it is now. In fact, there used to be no Mother's Day for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharmila-tagore/in-my-time-mother-s-day-wasn-t-celebrated-the-way-it-is-now-in-fact/) [Sharmila Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharmila-tagore/) > [I was very famous as a young man and I celebrated both the good and bad times with drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-hughes/i-was-very-famous-as-a-young-man-and-i-celebrated-both-the-good-and/) [Glenn Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-hughes/) > [Go where you are celebrated not where you are tolerated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-mustafa/go-where-you-are-celebrated-not-where-you-are-tolerated/) [Farah Mustafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-mustafa/) > [In real life, and for women everywhere, no matter what their job is, your 30s and your 40s and beyond should be celebrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/in-real-life-and-for-women-everywhere-no-matter-what-their-job-is/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [“For difficult women, who should be celebrated for their very nature”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/for-difficult-women-who-should-be-celebrated-for-their-very-nature/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Why has there never been a holiday where peace is celebrated all throughout the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/why-has-there-never-been-a-holiday-where-peace-is-celebrated-all/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Having long suspected that there was something alive in there, running the place, separate from everything else, absolutely individual and independent, we've celebrated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/having-long-suspected-that-there-was-something-alive-in-there-running/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) [Browse all 189 Celebrated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else - very rarely to those who say to themselves, 'Go to, now, let us be a celebrated individual!'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thinking-about-something-else-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Celebrated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thinking-about-something-else-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2-358_fame_fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thin_1640366.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else - very rarely to those who say to…” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fame usually comes to those who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thinking-about-something-else-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr-2/fame-usually-comes-to-those-who-are-thinking-about-something-else-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```